


(31. Ripe) / In the end, there was a beginning

by Mothfluff



Series: GO-ctober Prompts 2019 [31]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gen, M/M, No Dialogue, October Prompt Challenge, One Word Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 16:12:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21256106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothfluff/pseuds/Mothfluff
Summary: My attempts at an October Challenge, using the original Inktober prompts for drabbles.(Each prompt will be posted as part of a series, not chapters, so I can add tags/characters/ratings/trigger warnings for each instead of the whole she-bang)Prompt 31 - RipeThere is an apple tree in the garden, and on it, an apple.There is nothing special about this apple, not yet, not for a while, as it hangs green and sour and inedible on its branch, the lowest one of the tree.Right now, the apple knows not of the stories it will bring.





	(31. Ripe) / In the end, there was a beginning

There is an apple tree in the garden, and on it, an apple.

There is nothing special about this apple, not yet, not for a while, as it hangs green and sour and inedible on its branch, the lowest one of the tree.

Right now, the apple knows not of the stories it will bring. Right now, there is only an apple tree with an apple, and a garden, and an angel atop its gate, in awe of all the wonders the garden has brought, all the beauty and delights it holds. Right now, there is only an apple tree with an apple, and a garden, and a demon sneaking through its darkest areas, in awe of all the possibilities the garden has brought, all the changes and chances it has given him.

Soon enough, the apple will redden and sweeten and hang even lower, the branch brought down by the weight of a serpent, its belly as red as the shiny apple it slithers around. Soon it will look enticing to the young woman the snake is whispering too, and she will pluck it, bring it to her lips, and the whole story will begin.

Soon enough, an angel will come down from the wall, a flaming sword in his hands, and he will have to make a choice. He will make the right one, even though it is the wrong one, and he will not know for many years what it meant and what it brought. He will wonder, often, as the story goes on, the story that was started with a red apple, a sword, an angel and a demon, and with a choice.

He knows, in the end, that the apple was not the problem.

But right now, there is only a green apple, and a demon who is wondering if it's all worth it. If it would be better to rip the apple off the branch, devour it, keep this knowledge to himself. He knows not of the stories it will bring, but he can imagine, unfortunately, and he can imagine it will not bring good things alone. He sees the young woman and her man in the fields, sees them kind and soft and loving with each other, and wonders if it would not be easier to stop it before it starts. He sees the angel, his flaming sword bright even against the sun shining behind him on the wall, and wonders if it would not be safer to stop it before it starts.

But he knows, in the end, that the apple is not the problem.

Eve will eat it, and share it with Adam, and they will not be the problem either.

There is no way for him to stop it.

There is an apple, and it must be eaten, and the story must begin.

-*-

_The story of the serpent of Eden and the guard of its eastern gate_

_the story of their world_

_the story of humans and angels and demons and wonders and horrors_

_the story of Never and Ever, of Forever and Always_

-*-

There are many apple trees after, in many gardens, with plenty of apples to be plucked. The demon will pluck them, always, pick the nicest, juiciest one he can find, make a show of it all before holding it out for the angel. He will recite some line from a play, or quote a philosopher, and offer up the gift of knowledge, the gift of freedom, but also its dangers, its terrible be-all and end-all. He knows what it entails now, he does not need to imagine the good and the bad it could bring, and yet he does. And yet he hopes.

The angel will not take it, of course. He will smile, sometimes laugh, chide the demon for being so silly. He will frown, sometimes growl, reprimand the demon for being so careless. He will not mean either, but his fear will be too grand to speak the truth. He knows, too, what it entails, but he imagines far more, the good, the bad. And yet he hopes.

They will laugh about it or fight about it or not even talk about it, but nothing will change.

The demon will wonder, as he always does, if it is all worth it. If it would not be better to let it go, do things the way he is meant to do them, ignore the feelings in his chest and the thoughts in his head. Keep the apple to himself, keep himself to himself, put and end to this, whatever it is, whatever it could be. He wonders until he looks at the angel, and he knows, in the end, that the apple is not the problem.

The angel will wonder, as he always does, if it is all worth it. If it would not be better to let it go, do what he truly wants, not what he is meant to do. Ignore the fear and doubt and worry, open all that he has kept to himself, embrace whatever this is, whatever it could be. He wonders as he looks at the demon, and he knows, in the end, that the apple is not the problem.

Aziraphale will not take it, cannot share this world and this knowledge and all these feelings with Crowley.

There is no way for them to stop it all.

There are many apples, and they cannot be eaten, and the story must go on.

-*-

_The story of the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale_

_the story of their life_

_the story of sides, of enemies and arrangements_

_the story of Never and Ever, of Forever and Always_

-*-

There is an apple tree in a garden, behind a little cottage, and it is full of apples.

There is nothing special about these apples, and yet there very much is. They are deep red, almost crimson, as ripe as they could ever be, full of juice and flavour and life.

They tell stories of the past, each and every one of them as Crowley picks them, takes a bite out of them without hesitation. He thinks about the stories they tell, the memories they bring. He doesn't wonder anymore, he's not afraid anymore. He knows about the good and the bad, about freedom and knowledge, about choice and strength and loyalty and love. He's glad that he hadn't devoured the first one, hadn't kept this knowledge to himself. He knows why his angel never accepted any of the others, and why he kept offering them, and why neither of them could ever put a stop to it. He knows it was better to let it go, to let their story run as it did, to not fight against it, to never put an end to whatever it was, whatever they had become, whatever they dreamed of being. Crowley knows now, that in the end, the apple was never their problem.

He picks another one, a better one, red and shiny and delicious as nothing else ever was. He makes a little show of it, always, as he hands it over to Aziraphale, next to him, if only to get a smile out of him, a quick laugh, more delicious than any apple could be.

Aziraphale takes it, of course. He takes it and bites into it and delights in its taste, and everything that comes with it. All the stories, and memories, the knowledge and freedom. All the things he couldn't have for so long, and had always longed for. All the things his demon had kept for him, treasured for him, waiting to share whenever it would be possible to share between them. He doesn't wonder anymore, he's not afraid anymore. His fear and doubt and worry has been replaced, with strength and loyalty and warmth and love.

He eats the whole apple, relishes it, just like he relishes the smile on Crowley's face as he watches him. Aziraphale knows now, that in the end, the apple was never their problem.

There was finally a way for them to stop it all, and start again.

There are many apples, and they will share them all, and their story will never end.

-*-

_The story of Crowley and Aziraphale_

_the story of their past, present and future_

_the story of love, of fighting and believing and trusting_

_the story of Never and Ever, of Forever and Always_

-*-

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it! A whole month of stories done, only one major moment of lagging behind!
> 
> 48386 words, just shy of NaNoWriMo's goal of 50k. More than I've ever written for anything, even my Bachelor's thesis. Gosh.
> 
> I don't know if I'm happy about having the 'day off' tomorrow after 31 days, or if I'm sad about not getting to share another story with you all and wait for the wonderful comments. <3 Thanks to everyone who read through these prompts, I really do hope you enjoyed them.


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